By Tom Kirvan
Legal News
In May of 1996, the abduction and slaying of a Bloomfield Hills ophthalmologist was a crime that shocked the collective conscience of a community, as police investigators attempted to solve a homicide jigsaw puzzle that was missing more than a few pieces.
When attorney Bob Kostin first heard word of Dr. Deborah Iverson’s murder, which was lead story material on local television newscasts for weeks, he had no idea that the case would ultimately touch his life in a most profound way.
As an adoptive parent of a young boy.
That boy was the then infant son of Anitra Coomer, who in fall of 1997 was convicted of the first-degree murder of Dr. Iverson in a random robbery scheme gone bad. The boy’s father, McConnell Adams Jr., also was convicted in the slaying that mystified police for months until an anonymous tip led investigators to the Clawson couple, both of whom were 21 years old at the time of the murder.
Now, 24 years after the killing, Coomer and Adams remain behind bars in state prisons, serving life sentences for their roles in abducting Iverson from a Birmingham parking lot and later strangling her in the back seat of her luxury SUV.
But that’s far from the end of the story. Kostin and his wife Kelley, a 52nd District Court judge in Clarkston, would see to that.
Back in the mid-1990s, the Kostins had made plans to adopt a child. Those plans then somehow intersected with an unintentional victim of the Iverson tragedy – Shay, the infant son of two convicted killers.
The boy’s odyssey immediately took a turn for the better within a stable, loving, and nurturing home provided by the Kostins.
Within a few years, he just as neatly found a home in Clarkston Schools, which helped him develop a love for learning and a desire to excel academically.
“We were so proud of what he accomplished as a student in Clarkston, which led him to further academic success at the University of Michigan,” said Kostin, adding that his son was an honors student in political science at U-M.
Throughout his formative years, Shay with the help of his adoptive parents made a point of staying in touch with his biological mother, regularly corresponding with her while also periodically visiting her in prison.
“We all have developed a great relationship with her,” said Kostin. “Shay loves his mom and wants all the best for her.”
Shay, now 25, was scheduled to receive his much-coveted U-M degree at spring commencement ceremonies May 2 at Michigan Stadium. Former Vice President Al Gore was scheduled to deliver the commencement address. The pandemic, of course, put the brakes on that, forcing U-M to conduct a virtual graduation day for degree recipients.
This September, Shay will enroll at Western Michigan University-Cooley Law School in Lansing, hoping to “follow in the footsteps” of his parents as distinguished members of the legal community.
“He has the smarts to do well in law school,” said Kostin, noting that his son eventually may complete his law studies at Georgetown University or Howard University. “He received a nice scholarship from Cooley and the sky’s the limit for what he can achieve in the law. If ever there was a good story arising out of a tragedy, this could be it.”
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